Water-agitator.



2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS I: II I Patented June 6, 1916.

1'. L. CAMPBELL.

'WATER AGITATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 1914.

THE coLuMBu PLANOGRAPH c0 WASHINGTON. n. c.

WITNESSES I. L. CAMPBELL.

WATER AGITATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.17. I914.

Patented June 6, 1916.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2 Ww 47/ III g I v ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES LUMSDEN CAMPBELL, OF HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO DE LA VERGNE MACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YURK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WATER-AGITATOR.

Application filed April 17. 1914.

To all whom it may concern lie it known that I, Janus LUMSDEN (.uirnnpn, a Canadian citizen, residing at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \Vater-Agitators, of which the following is a .full, true, and complete specification.

In the manufacture of ice, the ice first forms on the inner surfaces of the walls and builds upwardly and inwardly toward the top and center. To prevent the air or other gases in solution and the solid particles in suspension in the water from being included in the ice as the latter builds by accretion, various devices have been proposed by means of which the water adjacent to the freshly forming ice surface is circulated or agitated to sweep the surface free of the air bubbles and solid particles collecting upon it.

The main object of my invention is to secure this water circulation or agitation in an effective manner, and at the same time reduce the liability of freezing; the agitator in the ice through carelessness or inattention on the part of those in charge. I may secure this object by providing an agitator mounted for alternate up and down movement in the water. the agitator being" so supported and operated that its downward movement may be limited by the newly formed ice surface and its upward movement will remove it from the ice surface a desired distance. This may be done by permitting a relative movement between the extreme end of the agitator and the operating mechanism, relative movement in one direction being normally prevented and relati e movement in the opposite direction being permitted when the agitator engages with the ice on its down stroke. The agitator is thus always positively lifted from the ice. but is moved down 'ardly only to the ice surface. Thus the extent of agitating movement may be substantially constant but the limits of the mo ement will vary in position as successive ice accretions form. Various different means if agitating may be employed in connection with such operating mechanism, and given the movements above referred to. One means of effecting agitation comprises the injection of air into the Water so that the air in rising will collect and remove the minute bubbles or other particles in the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1916.

Serial No. 832,429.

water. The mechanical operation of the air injector may cause agitation or circulation of the water independently of that caused by air injection, but as it is necessary to deliver the air under pressure to the injectornozzle, I may in a very simple and efficient manner utilize the said pressure, before it is delivered to the nozzle, as a motive fluid for producing the mechanical operation. For this purpose various forms of air motors may be used. dependent upon the character and rapidity of movement desired for the agitator, and the exhaust air from the motor may be delivered to the injector nozzle in various different ways. Instead of using; air I might use some other alone or mived with air. For instance, I might use part ozone to effect a sterilization of the water.

Instead of using an air motor for the airitator and injecting the exhaust air into the water I might use the same or a very similar apparatus With water as the motive power. In such a case water under pressure could be used in the motor for operating the agitator. Irrespective of the character of the driving mechanism for the agitator or of the nature of the injected fluid, I preferably provide for the injection of the air or other fluid, independently, of any movement of the agitator, When such operation is desired, during the cooling of the water to the freezing; point, or during the first portion of the freezing operation before there is liability of the agitator being frozen in the ice.

Certain of the novel features contemplated by. my invention may be employed independently of others and may assume various different specific forms. or I may utilize all of the features in one construction.

(me simple form which my invention may assume is shown in the accompanying drawwhich I desire to have considered in an illustrative rather than in limiting sense as the scope of my invention is defined in the appended claims.

Various other features of my invention referred to hereinafter and of more or less importance, will also be found incorporated in the form illustrated.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views, and in Which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device constructed in accordance with my invention, two ice cans being shown in vertical section; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a central vertical s ction of the apparatus on a somewhat larger scale and adapted for use with only one ice can, and Fig. l is a side levation on a still larger scale of the piston valve.

In the specific form illustrated I employ an agitator 10 comprising a head or block of non-metallic material on the lower end of a rod 11. The rod and the agitator are pro vided with communicating passages leading to two nozzles 12, 12 on the head, so that air or other fluid may he delivered down through the rod 11 and escape into the water through said nozzles. By forming the nozzle orifice in a block of non-metallic, or heat-insulating material, such as hard rubber or fiber, l have found that the tendency for the orifice to freeze over avoided. The agitator is so mounted that it may have an alternate up and down movement in the water and an air motor is provided for this purpose, the exhaust air being delivered to the air nozzles 12. in the specific form illustrated in Fig. 3 this air motor iicludes a cylinder 13 mounted directly above the ice can on any suitable form of supports 14 and having a comparatively heavy piston 15 disposed therein. A piston rod 16 extends from the lower side of the piston through a suitable packing 17 in the lower cylinder head 18 and is mounted to telescope with the rod 11. Preferably the piston rod 16 is in the form of a tube and the rod 11 extends up through a bearing 19 at the lower end of the tube and terminates in a head 20, movable longitudinally of. the tube. The head is provided with a suitable gasket or packing so as to prevent air from passing the latter and both the piston 15 and the head 20 have passages therethrough so that air may flow from the cylinder chamber above the piston through the piston 15, the piston rod 16, the head 20 and the agitator rod 11 to the nozzles This air passage at some point along its length is preferably restricted so as to control or regulate the flow of air delivered to the air passages. As illustrated, I provide a comparatively small opening 21 through the piston. the size of the opening being determined in accordance with the air pressure and the desired rate of flow.

Air under pressure is delivered to the cylinder through an air inlet at the lower end below the piston 15, and suitable valve mechanism is provided whereby the air below the piston will first force the piston upwardly and will then be permitted to es cape past the piston to the upper piston chamber while the piston is descending under the action of gravity. Various different forms of valve mechanism may be pro vided for the accomplishment of this purpose but a simple form of valve is that illustrated in which I employ a tube 23 vertically movable through the piston 15. The tube is open at its upper end and provided with stops 524' to limit the downward movement of the tube. Adjacent to the lower end the tube is provided with a port :25 in the side thereof, which is closed when the tube is in its upper position. lelow the port the tube carries a valve plate 26 adapted to seat against the under surface of the piston and prevent air from lowing to the port The upper end of the tube projects to such a distance above the piston that it may engage with the upper cylinder head when the piston approaches the end of its up stroke, and the lower end of the tube carries a stop adapted to engage with the lower cylinder head as the piston approaches the end of its down stroke. To prevent the valve 26 from being jammed against its seat 1 may provide the under side of the piston with suitable stops 27 of such length that they will engage with the lower cylinder head at approximately the same time that the valve 26 reaches its seat and the alve may carry a buffer 28 of soft rubber or other suitable material which may be slightly compressed upon engagement with the lower cylinder head.

ith the air delivered continuously through the air inlet 22 and with the alve tube in the position indicated in Figs. 3 and 4: the piston will be lifted and it will in turn lift the agitator therewith. As it reaches the upper end of its stroke the valve will be pressed downwardly through the piston. In the meantime the air above the iston has been flowing through the port 21 to the air ii jecting nozzles 12. As the valve 23 shifts its position the air beneath the piston may through-the port 25 to the cylinder chamber above the piston and as the port 25 is materially larger than the port 21 the pressures above and below the piston will tend to equalize and the piston will move downwardly under the action of gravity until the valve 23 is again automatically shifted. The low of air through the port 21 and the nozzles 1'2 will continue due to the ditferencc in size of the ports 25 and 21.

in order to control the position of the agitator within the ice tank and to automatically vary the position of the range of movement of the agitator as the ice accumulates the can, I not only telescopically connect the piston rod 16 and the agitator rod 11, but I provide means whereby the telescopic action may easily take place in one direction,

but is normally prevented from taking place in the opposite direction. This means includes a clutch ring 29 pivoted to the lower end of the piston rod and encircling the agitator rod. The opening through the ring presents a knife edge and the ring is pivotally supported at one edge so that it may swing downwardly away from the bearing 19 to a limited extent. The knife edges engage with the sides of the rod 11 and bind the latter with a cramping action so as to prevent the downward movement of the agitator rod in respect to the piston rod except when the ring 29 be held in a plane substantially at right angles to the direction of movement of the rod 11. The upward movement of the rod 11 tends to bring the clutch ring to this position and thus the upward movement is unrestricted whereas the downward movement is normally prevented.

In using the device, shown in Fig. 3, the air continuously delivered under pressure to the inlet 22 will cause the intermittent reciprocation of the piston and agitator. and the exhaust air will be continuously delivered to the water through the nozzles 12. The range of movement of the nozzles will be the same as the range of movement of the pis ton. At first the nozzles are preferably positioned adjacent the lower end of the can. As the ice forms and builds up from the bottom of the can it will eventually reach a position where the agitator in its downward movement will contact with the ice. The clutch ring 29 permits the piston to continue its downward movement while the agitator rests on the ice, but when the piston starts up again it will lift the agitator a distance equal to the lip-stroke of the piston. The lip-stroke of the agitator will thus always be the same as the lip-stroke of the piston, but the down-stroke of the agitator may be shorter than the down-stroke of the piston if the agitator contacts with the ice. As the ice continues to form the range of movement of the agitator in the can will work its way upwardly toward the upper end and is thus prevented from being frozen in the ice. The agitator may never be in contact with the ice for more than a very brief instant, as the agitator starts upwardly at the same instant that the piston does.

Under some circumstances it may be desired to agitate the water merely by the delivery of air thereto during the preliminary cooling operation and on formation of the first portion of the ice and before there is any liability of the agitator becoming frozen in the ice. I may prevent the movement of the agitator and piston without interfering with the flow of air bv the providing of simple means for holding the piston midwav of its stroke when the tube valve 23 is in such position that the air may flow through the piston. Any suitable means may be pro vided for this purpose, but one simple form includes a stud 30 carried by a collar on the piston rod 16 and a pivoted link 31 suspended from the lower end of the cylinder. The stud and link are so proportioned and positioned in respect to each other that when the link is swung into engagement with the stud the piston is held against downward movement. With the piston thus locked in position and with the tube valve down the air may How to the air injecting nozzles but the latter will not be reciprocated in the water. As the ice approaches the nozzle the link 31 may be moved to inoperative position and the reciprocating action of the agitator will immediately and automatically begin.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a single cylinder adapted to be mounted directly above the ice can and with the piston rod projecting down into the can. It is of course evident that the piston rod may be provided with separate branches projecting down into separate cans so that one cylinder and piston could operate the agitators of a plurality of cans. As a simple illustration of such a construction I have shown two agitators operated from a single piston. in Figs. 1 and 2. In these figures the piston rod 16 is provided with two branches 16 each project ing down into a separate ice can Each branch has its own agitator 10 and agitator rod 11. It is of course evident that a larger niunber of branches might be provided if desired.

I claim 1. A device of the class described including an air discharge pipe adapted to extend into the water to be frozen, and means for intermittently raising said discharge pipe and 'iermitting it to drop. 7

A device of the class described including an air discharge pipe adapted to e.\'- tend into the water to be frozen. and means for interinittentlv raising said discharge pipe and permitting it to drop into the contact with the ice surface. the extent of upward movement being uniform irrespective of the position of the ice surface.

3. A device of the class described including an air discharge pipe adapted to extend in the water to be frozen and having an outlet at the lower end thereof. means for imparting to said pipe positive movement toward and from the surface of the ice and means for continuously delivering air through said discharge pipe.

4. A device of the class described including an air discharge pipe terminating in a delivery nozzle normally neath the surface of the water to be frozen, and means for intermittently moving the nozzle away from the ice surface to preyent the latter from becoming frozen in the ice.

extending bej 5. A device of the character described including a conduit adapted to deliver a fluid into the water to be frozen, and means for agitating the water by imparting to said conduit an up and down movement.

(3. A device of the character described including a conduit adapted to deliver a fluid into the water to be frozen, and means for bodily moving the conduit, said means being operated by the fluid delivered to the latter.

7. A device of the character described including a conduit adapted to deliver a fluid to the water to be frozen, and means for intermittently moving the conduit away from the surface of the ice being formed, said means being operated by the fluid delivered to the conduit.

A device of the character described including a conduit terminating in a nozzle normally disposed beneath the surface of the water to be frozen. and fluid operated means for agitating the water by bodily movement of the nozzle, the exhaust fluid from such means being delivered to the nozzle and injected into the water.

9. A device of the character described inciuding an agitator disposed within the water to be frozen comprising an injecting nozzle below the surface of the water, fluid operated means for imparting bodily movement to the agitator, and means for delivering the exhaust fluid from said first-mentioned means to the nozzle.

10. A device of the character described including an agitator and fluid operated means for intermittently raising and lowering the agitator.

11. A device of the character described including an agitator, and means for intermittently raising and lowering said agitator. the extent of the raising movement being substantially uniform and the extent of the lowering movement being limited by the ice surface.

12. A device of the character described comprising an agitator including two telescoping parts. and means for delivering a fluid through the agitator.

13. A device of the character described including an agitator including two telescoping parts. means for delivering a fluid through the agitator. and means for imparting a bodily movement to the agitator. I 14. A device of the character described including an agitator having two telescoping sections, means for normally preventing the extending of the agitator. said mean permitting the shortening of the agitator upon engagement with the accumulated ice, means for intermittently moving the agitator end wise toward and from the ice surface, and means for moving a fluid through the agitut r.

15. A device of the character described including an agitator having two telescoping sections and a head of heat-insulating material, the sections being tubular and the head being provided with a nozzle orifice, and means for delivering fluid through the agitator and nozzle.

16. A device of the character described including a vertically disposed cylinder, a piston therein, an agitator adapted to extend into the water to be frozen, and telescopic connections between said agitator and said piston.

17. A device of the character described including a cylinder, a piston therein, an agitator and hollow operative connections between the agitator and piston for bodily moving said agitator and for delivering a fluid into the water to be frozen.

18. A device of the character described including a cylinder, a piston therein, an agitator and hollow operative connections between said agitator and said piston for bodily reciprocating said agitator and for delivering a fluid into the water to be frozen.

19. A device of the character described including a vertically disposed cylinder, a piston therein, having a passage therethrough, a hollow piston rod extending through the lower end of the cylinder, and having open communication through said passage to the upper surface of said piston, an agitator connected to said piston rod and carrying a fluid-injecting nozzle, means for delivering a fluid to the lower end of the cylinder below the piston, and valve mechanism controlled by the reciprocation of the piston for controlling the flow of fluid to opposite sides of the piston.

20. A device of the character described including a vertically disposed cylinder, a piston therein, having a passage therethrough, a hollow piston rod extending through the lower end of the cylinder, and having open communication through said passage to the upper surface of the piston, an agitator connected to the piston rod and carrying a fluid injecting nozzle, means for delivering a fluid to the lower end of the cylinder below the piston. and a valve in the piston controlled by the reciprocation of the piston and controlling the flow of fluid from below the piston to above the piston.

21. A device of the character described including a cylinder, a piston therein. a hollow piston rod extending through one end of the cylinder. and having open c-"nimnuication with the cylinder chamber at the other surface of the piston, an agitator operated by the piston rod and carrying a fluid injecting nozzle, means for delivering a fl'iid to the first mentioned end of the cylinder, and a longitudinally movable tube valve within said piston controlled by the reciprocation of the piston for controlling the flow of air from below the piston to above the piston.

22. A device of the character described including a cylinder, a piston therein, a hollow piston rod extending through one end of the cylinder, and having open communication with the cylinder chamber at the other surface of the piston, an agitator operated by the piston rod and carrying a fluid injecting nozzle, means for delivering a fluid to the first mentioned end of the cylinder, and valve mechanism controlled by the reciprocation of the piston for controlling the flow of fluid from the first mentioned JAMES LUMSDEN CAMPBELL.

Vitnesses:

E. H. C. WALKER, ERNEST APPLEBY.

copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latenta, Washington, D. C." 

